Tuesday, November 22 2005 14:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Maintaining that she never begged to be made the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti today (Nov 22, 2005) said there were 'serious problems' in the state Government that needed to be addressed.

"I never sought any promise that I should be made Chief Minister," Bharti said when asked whether the BJP leadership had assured her that she would take over from Babulal Gaur after the Bihar Assembly elections. She was in-charge of BJP's poll campaign in the state along with Arun Jaitley.

I am not a beggar, the people of Madhya Pradesh elected me with two-thirds majority. I do not need to beg for the post," she said.

However, Bharti was quick to add that there were 'very serious problems' in the Gaur administration, which the party would have to address.

Asked about differences among leaders in BJP, she said, "if there are no voices of dissidence, either the people are not committed or there is total dictatorship as is the case of Congress. "There is total democracy in BJP and our party has the best second-rung leadership in the country," she said.

Bharti also took a dig at former MP chief minister Digvijay Singh, saying NDA's resurgence in Bihar showed that people's choice was more important than just poll management as had reportedly been claimed by her Congress predecessor.